Oh, how I remember the early days of dance shoes! Yes, before dance troupes, before dance gangs, before salsa dancing became an Olympic sport versus a salsa dance.
Yes, I am talking about the days prior to people ignoring their partners and the music, when most people smiled on the dance floor, danced with their eyes closed, and were often found singing the songs in the salsa clubs. Those Glory days.
But what shoes were they wearing? Well, it was so easy back then. The salsa shoes worn in the golden age were simply … (wait for it) …
Awesome dress shoes! They were not dance shoes per se, but really great looking dress shoes. When I started people dressed up to dance (yes, even just socially on a Wednesday night). There was literally no one whom wore jeans (can you believe it … told you I transcend time). People dressed up to go social dancing, and thus, they were always wearing dress shoes as well. That was such a simple time … far more fun, and far more smiles.
I swear, I wore through a million Florsheim shoes (well, really Bally and Ferragamo’s, but who’s name dropping). I loved my killer shoes, but since I danced every single night, they would last me a few months at most! Since I kept many pair, my shoe “habit” cost me at least $1000 every few months. Wow. And there you have it …
And I’m a guy, and I already talked about some of my favorite men’s salsa dancing shoes, so you can see my tastes have changed. But not just my tastes …
As the years passed, we’ve seen some downright stupid things happen in salsa. Not the least of which is people wearing white jazz slippers in salsa clubs. These shoes, with suede bottom (which I like), have great connection to the floor, and no arch or heel support at all. They also kinda look … not salsa (at least, not the salsa I grew up with). With the passing of time, people looked worse and worse when going out. Now, people don’t really dress up to salsa dance anymore (and it’s such a shame). The women are still great, but the men … they look horrible most of the time. It’s all ripped jeans today. I admit, I have about ten pair of diesel jeans that I wear dancing. Sad, but true …
Anyway, back to fashion. The change in salsa dance from a social dance to a ballroom competitive sport, has made the jazz shoe (which I will talk about in depth), and the ladies ballroom shoes (suede bottom, same for men), a common sight in many clubs. You won’t find me talking about them here. Never, ever, wear a slipper (jazz, ballet) to a salsa club. In fact, I insist that you laugh at anyone that does (for a long time). In fact, post their picture here, so we can laugh at them too. 
Ok, we won’t laugh, that’s not nice – but if there are any jazz shoe slipper salsa club going folks out there, please explain it to me?
I know, that seems harsh, and I’m sorry about that, but my god. You are in a club! Not a dance studio. Quite apart from that, they are incredibly dangerous for your feet. Never listen to your dance teacher whom recommends these shoes lest’ you suffer the fate (as many have) of never being able to dance again. Search it out on the web, you’ll see what I mean … Warning done.
But the Jazz sneaker? The Bloch? The Capezio? I’m a big fan, and will post more about them soon. The New York shoes – pointy tip for the guys, I’m a big fan (as long as they aren’t like 3 feet long). For ladies, the change in dress, and dance style (and thus greater need for spins) has brought about a greater focus on comfort and versatility versus pure style. This is a big win for women’s dance shoes! Really ladies – you are lucky, and there are some amazing dance shoes out there for women. I’ll dedicate my next post to womens dance shoes specifically.
Yes, even more about dance shoes coming soon!
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Salsa Shoes are exclusively talked about for women! I mean it …
Probably eighty percent of the sites that talk about salsa dance shoes are talking about them for women (and rightfully so), but I’m going to talk about men here for a second, because we have the rest of our lives to focus on ladies salsa shoes and dance shoes, and frankly men aren’t talked about enough.
Salsa shoes for men are hard to find! In my next post, I detail my salsa history with dance shoes (and yes, I’m a man), and you’ll hear about it. However, I have found my current shoes, and I wanted to share them with you!
Here they are – and yes, I do recommend you buy a pair!
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Salsa shoes have always been a crazy difficult subject for salsa dancers! I mean really, it has been.
And strangely enough, what people wear out salsa dancing has changed dramatically over the years (and I do mean dramatically). Salsa dance shoes today, are different than five years ago, and way different than 10 years ago.
On this blog, I’m going to cover the best shoes for different type of salsa dancers, and give a review of your options. I’m also going to give you a historical perspective on what people are wearing out salsa dancing, and a few of my insights into why some shoes are simply better for dance than others.
Finally, I’m going to tell you a few of the salsa shoes that I wear out dancing, and why. We’re not all the same, but it should prove interesting! Let’s get those feet moving (and comfortable).
Filed under salsa dance shoes, salsa dancing shoes, salsa shoes by on Aug 21st, 2010. Comment.